Let's Talk About A Balanced Plan

Following is the full text of Leader Cantor's remarks:

"The President has said on daily basis that we should be passing a balanced plan. But what we hear from the President is continuing discussion only on one side of the ledger. It has always been about tax rate increases, and nothing about spending. We insist to say, look, Mr. President, let's talk about a balanced plan, but where are your specifics on the spending cuts? Even his own advisors say that any kind of agreement that we come to has to deal with the prime drivers of our deficit which is the spending and particularly the health care entitlement programs. We ask the President to please sit down with us, be specific and let's get that balanced plan.

"You know, it's interesting that the Senate has passed a bill that is calling for increased revenues of $850 billion. The President continues to say support that bill, pass that bill. Well how is that the case when he continues to say, we also need $1.4 trillion in additional new revenues. There is an inconsistency here. Let's stop playing games. We want to be here for the American people and we want to make sure that we get a balanced solution so that we can start focusing on the one thing that we have seemed to have forgotten and that is it's about jobs and the economy. It's about getting people back to work, making sure their life works again and to finally get us back into the mode of a growing economy.

"The President seems to be walking us ever so slowly towards the cliff. We've said we are committed to staying here. We are going to stay here right up until Christmas Eve, throughout the time and period before the New Year, because we want to make sure that we resolve this in an acceptable way for the American people."